WASHINGTON, D.C. (NBC News) – The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh began with a contentious start Tuesday as Democratic Senators pushed to adjoin the proceedings before they could even begin.
The calls for a delay come after 42,000 documents from Kavanaugh’s time in the George W. Bush White House were released just hours before the hearing was set to begin.
“The idea that any judge in the United States would go forward with a trial the day after a document dump like that is preposterous and yet here we are going ahead because they’re so desperate to jam this guy onto the court,” says Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.
The documents weren’t released by the White House, but instead by President Bush’s lawyer.
The Trump administration has released hundreds of thousands of documents, more than the past five nominees combined, they argue, but the White House is claiming executive privilege on 100,000 pages.
Judge Kavanaugh’s appointment could cement a right-leaning court which could shift decisions on major issues.
Democrats expressed their concern over Kavanaugh’s stance on issues like gun laws and women’s rights to health care, but the judge vowed to decide cases based on law, not his personal views.
Read more: https://nbcnews.to/2LVvaVa
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